Alcorn County saves on garbage collection

CORINTH – Alcorn County saved more than $30,000 in its first month of collecting household garbage, according to July records.
Under its contract with Waste Management, which the Board of Supervisors ended June 30, the county had been spending $58,194 per month, said board President Gary Ross.
The county spent about $27,500 in July, which includes salaries and note payments on new garbage collection trucks.
“We expect it to get even better,” Ross said.
When the board voted in March to terminate the Waste Management contract, board members agreed they could do better by managing garbage collection themselves, rather than continuing to absorb the $200,000 annual deficits they were experiencing under the contract.
After the county took over operations, county residents saw few changes, since pick-up days and routes remained the same.
However, the county is operating three smaller trucks than Waste Management’s two larger ones to make navigating narrow county roads easier.
The three 2009 model International 7400 trucks, with Heil PT1000 refuse collection beds, were purchased through competitive bidding at a cost of $124,446 each. The county may sell the trucks back to the company after two years for $74,668 each.
Contact Lena Mitchell at 287-9822 or lena.mitchell@djournal.com.